The Board of Investments approved the application of SL Agritech Corp. as a producer of hybrid rice seeds and by-product under the agriculture/agribusiness and fishery listing of the current Investment Priorities Plan.
The P450-million project in Matanao, Davao del Sur is estimated to yield hybrid rice seeds of 9 million kilograms a year to be sold to local farmers.
Commercial operations began in March 2017, employing about 7,000 people including farm workers.
SL Agritech president and chief executive Henry Lim said the hybrid rice technology was recognized as a key approach to raise farm productivity.
SL Agritech said to further sustain rice production and availability to the public, it was taking advantage of the opportunity by concentrating on hybrid seed production known as AxR.
Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investments managing head Ceferino Rodolfo said the project would create more jobs and income opportunities for farmers in Mindanao, specifically those in the Davao region.
Rodolfo said given the country’s limited land to expand the hectarage of rice production, using hybrid seeds which increase farmers’ yield, rather than the conventional or regular seeds, would be an excellent approach to further increase rice production.
SL Agritech will use its own parental seeds in the production of SL-8H hybrid rice seed.
SL-8H has proven to be productive in terms of yield versus other hybrid rice seeds in the market with a potential yield of at least 8 tons and a record-yield of 17 tons per hectare.
Several Asian countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and Cambodia also adopted the SL-8H hybrid rice seeds technology in collaboration with SL Agritech.
The company has three hybrid rice and hybrid seed production sites in the country registered with the BOI.
These processing facilities are in Sta. Cruz, Laguna; Lupon, Davao Oriental; and Talavera, Nueva Ecija.